THE DRILL SERGEANT: Mining Group (ASX: MNE) has received results from recent grade control sampling conducted at the Descubridora mine at the El Roble copper project in Chile.

Ongoing underground face sampling from Descubridora has returned the highest copper results from the project to date, including:

RCPCH00348

3.6 metres at 14.35 per cent copper, 1.36 grams per tonne gold, 4.47 grams per tonne silver, 706ppm cobalt, 146ppm molybdenum and 20.99 per cent iron, including 0.9m at 30.50 per cent copper, 1.73g/t gold, 7g/t silver, 140ppm cobalt, 170ppm molybdenum and 18.55 per cent iron.

Grab samples taken from freshly blasted faces returned results grading up to 34.4 per cent copper.

 

Descubridora underground adit (underground workings) plan with
simplified geology and location of recent high-grade channel samples.
Source: Company announcement

 

Mining Group said the results confirm the high-grade nature and continuity of mineralised veins at El Roble.

Mining Group has an exclusive option to acquire up to 90 per cent of the El Roble copper project, which is located in the IOCG Coastal Cordillera Belt of Chile.

The project covers approximately 6,000 hectares and is currently being actively mined on a small scale by the current owner, including mining from the Descubridora Mine.

As part of the company’s ongoing assessment of the project, it has been carrying out regular grade control face sampling on adit development faces within the Descubridora Mine.

“These grades are phenomenal and the project continues to pleasantly surprise us with not only the tenor of copper mineralisation but also with its continuity and extent,” Mining Group managing director Zeff Reeves said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The Descubridora vein is currently exploited by the owner of the project on a very small scale but it appears that as the workings are pushed deeper, the vein is widening and the grade is increasing, as evidenced by these incredible grades we have just sampled.

“This sampling and the fact that the vein is widening provides us with confidence that the entire vein system has huge potential to host many more high-grade zones, along the 30 kilometre plus of cumulative strike we have mapped so far, and further confirms our strategy of funding long term growth with small scale production.”

Email: admin@mininggroup.net.au

Website: www.mininggroup.net.au

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Genesis Minerals (ASX: GMD) has purchased the Viking project group 2 tenements of AngloGold Ashanti Australia (ASX: AGG).

The project comprises a landholding in the Proterozoic Albany-Fraser Orogen and adjoining eastern margin of the Archaean Yilgarn Craton in the same mineral province that has delivered the Tropicana gold and Nova-Bollinger nickel discoveries.

The Viking project has already been subjected to a limited amount of
drilling during 2012 and 2013, which was focused on the Beaker prospect.

Beaker 4 cross section. Source: Company announcement

Results returned from the Beaker 4 anomaly included:

1.8 metres at 15.3 grams per tonne gold from 56 metres, including 0.54 metres at 45.7 grams per tonne gold in BKD009;

2.3m at 5.8g/t gold from 96.4m in BKD010; and

0.6m at 14.3g/t gold from 104.4m in BKD010.

Genesis
indicated systematic drilling testing of the Beaker 4 anomaly will be a
high priority for the company during its upcoming exploration program. 

“The acquisition of the Viking project is a result of our strategy to acquire high-quality gold and copper projects in South America and Australia,” Genesis Minerals managing director Michael Fowler said in the copany’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The project offers Genesis the unique opportunity to define shallow, high-grade gold resources capable of being rapidly advanced towards development in a new geological terrane.

“Genesis will take advantage of the high-quality $5 million dataset and near surface drill targets that have been rapidly generated by AngloGold Ashanti over the past two years by systematically testing a number of the highly ranked targets.”

Email: info@genesisminerals.com.au

Website: www.genesisminerals.com.au

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Each week any number of junior exploration plays set out to begin exploration on their ground. Here’s a small selection of what’s been happening this week.

Drilling to commence at Symons Hill

Boadicea Resources (ASX: BOA) has received approval for the drilling program of work (POW) from the Department of Mines & Petroleum of Western Australia.

A contract for the clearing of tracks / drill lines has been awarded.

Unseasonal heavy rains in the Fraser Range have however temporarily delayed the commencement of the clearing.

A drilling contractor has also been engaged to complete a first pass aircore drilling program.

Subject to weather it is anticipated that drilling will commence on 17 March 2014.

Boadicea Resources’ Symons Hill licence in the Fraser Range is east of Norseman and approximately 200 kilometres south-east of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and covers an area of 123 square kilometres.

The Licence is located immediately adjacent and on the north-east trend of the licence held by Sirius Resources (ASX: SIR), which contains the Nova/Bollinger nickel/copper discovery.

Drilling to commences at Crater Mountain’s HGZ project, PNG

Crater Gold Mining (ASX: CGN) has commenced a drilling program at the company’s High Grade Zone (HGZ) project at Crater Mountain, Papua New Guinea.

The drilling program will target the HGZ at Crater Mountain’s Nevera prospect, which is earmarked to commence gold mining later this year subject to a positive outcome from a mining lease application.

The objective of the drilling is to further delineate the zone to generate a measured resource prior to the commencement of production.

A first stage of approximately 1,800m of drilling comprising sixteen diamond drill holes will be drilled in four fans providing potential coverage for 80m strike and 100m of dip extension of the identified high grade mineralised zone.

A report by independent geological consultants, Mining Associates, suggests an exploration target for the High Grade Zone prospect based on selective underground mining of 50,000 to 250,000 tonnes at 13 to 30 grams per tonne gold for 60,000 to 100,000 ounces of contained gold.

“We are encouraged by previous underground development sampling which intersected bonanza gold grades, as well as high grades from our 2012 diamond drilling campaign,” Crater Gold Mining managing direct Greg Starr said.

“This is an exciting period for the company as we progress towards production and early cash flow generation.”

Drilling commences at Bong West

West Peak Iron (ASX: WPI) has commenced drilling at the company’s wholly-owned Bong West prospect in Liberia, West Africa.

The drilling will form part of a previously announced scoping study that has been commissioned to determine the economic viability of a small scale iron ore mining operation on this prospect area.

The program will build on data obtained from RC drilling completed early in
2013 on the Bong West prospect on the Eastern side of the tenement boundary and on the same stratigraphic unit as China Union’s recently recommissioned Bong Mine.

The diamond drilling for the current program will be limited to the Bong West prospect and aim to establish a resource to support 6 to 15 years of small scale mine life assuming an initial mining operation of approximately 100,000 tonnes per month.

Delivery of new combination drill rig

Cardinal Resources (ASX: CDV) has taken delivery of a recently-purchased new multi-purpose reverse circulation and diamond drill on site in Bolgatanga, Ghana.

Cardinal will begin its maiden drilling program on the Ndongo prospect, located within the Bolgatanga project.

The company-owned drill rig will enable Cardinal to carry out this program at direct cost rates typically up to 50 per cent less than independent contractor rates.

Maintenance, servicing and repairs will be carried out at the existing Bolgatanga base camp.

From Bolgatanga, Ghana, Managing Director Archie Koimtsidis said;

“To begin our maiden drilling program with a company-owned multi-purpose drill rig is a clear indication of the confidence we have in the Bolgatanga project tenement package.

“We are planning an initial 4,000 metres combined RC and diamond drill program at this first stage.

“The assay turn-around time from the SGS Laboratory in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, is expected to take approximately two weeks.

“We anticipate samples to be delivered on a weekly basis which will assist with quick analysis and reporting.

“We expect to complete this initial drilling program by the end of Q2 2014.”

Andy Well drilling campaign commences

Doray Minerals (ASX: DRM) has commenced a near-mine drilling campaign at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Andy Well gold project in Western Australia.

The reverse circulation (RC) drill program, to be executed over at least the next six months, will systematically test the Margaret and Kirsty Zones for the first time, as well as undertake further evaluation of the Suzie Zone.

“We’ve always believed that Andy Well has the potential to host a significant high-grade gold camp with multiple deposits,” Doray Minerals managing director Allan Kelly said.

“Up until now, we have been focussed on getting production from the Wilber
Lode up and running and subsequently paying down the project finance facility which we used to help build the project.

“We have literally only scratched the surface at Andy Well and hopefully the next few months drilling could result in a step change in the size of the resource base and, ultimately, the project mine life.”

Chanach exploration targets new copper-gold discovery

White Cliff Minerals (ASX: WCN) has designed its 2014 exploration program to test the potential depth and strike extent of the company’s new copper and gold discovery identified at Chanach in 2013.

The program will initially consist of a program of trenching surrounding the 2013 trenching results and will focus on defining the length, width, orientation and dip of the mineralised zones.

Once the trenching has defined the strike and dip of the mineralised zones follow up drilling will be conducted.

“The new Aucu copper-gold discovery adds some real excitement to the 2014 exploration program,” White Cliff Minerals managing director Todd Hibberd said.

“Results from the 2013 exploration campaign provided great encouragement, demonstrating the potential of the project to host multiple large scale copper-gold resources.

“The 2014 program will build on this work, testing the potential for a high grade copper-gold deposit, extending from surface at Chanach.”

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Bassari Resources (ASX: BSR) has received results from a recently-completed Scoping Study conducted at the company’s Makabingui gold project in Senegal, West Africa.

The Study has described the project as being robust, which has been received well by the company as it looks to commence production by mining four high-grade pits within the one million ounce Makabingui gold resource.

Bassari said the study has identified Makabingui to have the potential to deliver high gold grade, high processing recovery, strong cash flow at a low capital cost, with infrastructure already established.

The Study has demonstrated Makabingui to stand up as both an economic and technically viable project by way of operating conventional open-cut mining from four high-grade pits in conjunction with a simple processing path utilising gravity and Carbon In Leach methodology.

 

Mine plan view showing pits and waste dump. Source: Company announcement

 

Using a gold price of US$1200 per ounce the Sudy calculated:

Annual production of approximately 50,000 ounces of gold;

Gold grade to the mill of greater than six grams per tonne gold;

High recovery rates exceeding 95 per cent;

Cash Cost (C1) of around $700 per ounce;

Processing rate of approximately 300,000 tonnes per annum; and

Payback well within 12 months.

Existing infrastructure at the project and the company’s previous operating experience in Senegal provide Bassari with the ability to fast track production from Makabingui.

The company also sees plenty of upside for the project in terms of potential from within its existing gold resource and extensive land package.

“The positive results of the Makabingui Scoping Study underpin our previous pre-development results and show we have the key ingredients for a highly profitable operation with high grade and high processing recoveries.

The icing on the cake is the existing infrastructure and the gravity plant that can be upgraded.” Bassari Resources managing director Jozsef Patarica said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Utilising our significant existing infrastructure and gravity plant will result in low capital requirements and an incredibly quick payback period.

“Most importantly, this will reduce the timeframe to production.

“Our studies have focused on high-grade and low-cost capital and operations.
 
“We will infill drill the inferred component of the much larger gold resource and also follow up multiple new areas of mineralisation identified to date across our land package.

“The team is now focused on fast tracking a Feasibility Study for Makabingui.”

Email: admin@bassari.com.au

Website: www.bassari.com.au

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Triton Minerals (ASX: TON) has released the maiden Mineral Resource Estimate for the company’s Cobra Plains graphite deposit at the Balama North project in Mozambique.

The Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate comprises 103 million tonnes at an average grade of 5.52 per cent graphitic carbon, containing 5.7 million tonnes of graphitic carbon.

“This is a tremendous result for the company as Triton has managed to define in a secondary target the fourth largest graphite deposit in the world, based on resource tonnes, in just over six months from the commencement of drilling at the project,” Triton Minerals managing director Brad Boyle said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

 

Summary of publicly available resource data for graphite projects identified around the world. Source: Company announcement

 

“This result comes on the back of an initial exploration drill program at Cobra Plains that was intended as a proof of concept that graphite mineralisation continued southwest from the high-priority, high-grade target of the Nicanda Hill prospect.

“The true potential of the high-grade Nicanda Hill prospect and the rest of the Balama North project is yet to be fully tested.

“These results support the company’s belief that the Balama North project can host multiple, very substantial world class graphite deposits.”

In addition to the Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate, Triton’s consultants have also identified exploration target potential along strike and down dip at Cobra Plains as being in the range of 30Mt to 50Mt and grades of 5 per cent to 5.2 per cent graphitic carbon.

Triton said it considers further drill testing and other exploration work to be completed at the Cobra Plains deposit to have potential to be expanded to the range of 130 Mt to 150Mt.

Website: www.tritonmineralsltd.com.au